In 2008 my husband, then dating, left for Iraq. He was gone for the better part of the year. We were lucky, though. Often times families have loved ones overseas, and they get one static-filled phone call every once in forever. We had it a little easier. Before my husband left, he equipped me with a webcam. Once over in Iraq, he paid about 70 dollars a month for internet in his room. It wasn't the best internet, but it allowed us to stay in constant communication. We would instant message each other pretty much every day--there were days in which he was on missions and we could not speak. We would webcam sometimes, and we would e-mail regularly. He only called me from the public phones twice. Once on Valentine's Day and once because he was feeling extremely homesick and needed to talk. The other blessing we had is that he worked the night shift. This meant that when he would be waking up to go to work, I would be going to bed. It was perfect for us because he would wake up just a little bit earlier, and we would talk until I went to bed/he went to work. I remember one night waking up in the middle of an Earthquake and grabbing my laptop just to message him because I was panicking. He was there--he didn't believe me that there was an earthquake in Indiana, but I don't hold that against him ;). I never went anywhere without my laptop, and he would talk to me as much as possible. We would talk about our days. It was very much like having dinner together at the end of the day/breakfast together before going to work. We would discuss what happened that day, what our plans were for the next, etc. It kept things very regular. It was, again, very lucky. Another way that we kept in touch was through care packages. Originally, I was going to send him a care package once a month while he was gone, but it ended up being a lot more frequent than that for two reasons. For one thing, he needed stuff from home, even bare essentials. Yes, there was a PX on base that sold stuff, but not the stuff he liked, so he would often request things for a care package, and I was happy to oblige. Secondly, it was SO MUCH FUN to send them! I thoroughly enjoyed it! I couldn't wait a whole month to do it again, so it started becoming a biweekly thing. So here are some questions I have received about care packages, hope this helps!: How could you afford sending so many care packages? The Post Office offers the flat rate domestic boxes--if it fits, it ships! When my husband was overseas it was around $12 to send one of those overseas. You can use them because technically a military base is considered domestic! I think the prices have gone up a bit since 2008, but they are far cheaper than spending a ton of money on non-flat rate shipments. Right before he leaves, I run to the post office and grab a ton of them! I still have some left over from 2008. That way, when I get the urge to send something, I have the box and the packing slip all ready to go! It is perfectly easy! They ask me if anything is liquid, fragile, or perishable, I would say nope, and away it would go! What kind of stuff would you send? I would send everything and anything that would remind him of home. He liked getting food, daily hygiene products, letters, games, etc. What kinds of food would you send, and what would you recommend not sending? I don't know about your military man/woman, but when my husband is overseas he likes to get in shape. He tries to avoid junk food, so I would keep it healthy--sort of. On Valentine's Day I did send him about 5 dozen cookies--knowing full well he would share them with other people. Other than special occasions I would send him beef jerky, sunflower seeds, trail mix, almonds, goldfish crackers, etc. Anything that can handle the travel--It seemed to take about a week to a week and a half to reach him. I would not recommend sending chocolate or anything that melts--its HOT over there and sometimes the packages would sit in the sun (however, the m&ms in the trail mix did fine). I also did not send him any beverages of any sort--not a good idea. What would you send him to remind him of home? In ever package, I would put a card at the top. I would go to the store and find every "Love" card I could find that related to us. I would write a long handwritten letter in each card. Sure, we talked every day, but he loved getting the cards. If it was near a holiday, I would send him a care for the holiday! My letters varied depending on what was going on. I also loved theme boxes. He, luckily, was not over there for any Christmases, but if he was I would have sent him Christmas cookies, maybe a mini tree, and an advent calendar for example. I also would decorate the inside of the box. I would line it with fun paper and put stickers all over it--it was stuff that really did make a difference. I would send him pictures of our pets and family. I would also have friends write cards for the box. It was always fun. What are the non-food essentials? When you send non-food things you want to make sure they are small--they won't take up a lot of room in a foot locker--, and that they are things you wouldn't mind to be thrown away when he comes home for good. They don't have a lot of room. Some of the big hits that I sent the first time were playing cards, tiny nerf guns, comfortable pajamas (he was so glad to get these--a t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants), a small hanging basket and basketball for his room, pictures from home, magazines, books I thought he would enjoy reading, and personal hygiene products. I am sure I left stuff out, but once my husband is overseas I will post the different care packages I send in hopes that it will give you some more specific ideas! It is such a fun way to stay in communication, and I always tried to put as much love into it as possible! It was one of my ways to show that I thought about him every day and I cared.